From Los Angeles comes a blended prog metal band that has been storming through speakers everywhere since 2000 with a series of consistently powerful releases. Led by Nick van Dyk on guitars and with Fates Warning's Ray Alder behind the microphone, Redemption has recently come out with their newest album The Art of Loss, and in it they cover territory ranging from straightforward hard rock to cover tunes and 20-minute-plus epics. Host Mark Ashby spoke by phone with van Dyk about the thematic elements that pervade Redemption's albums, health issues that he and guitarist Bernie Versailles have been facing, and how he looks back on the music he created in the wake of his cancer diagnosis several years ago. They're online at www.redemptionweb.com.

Featured songs/excerpts:

"Slouching Towards Bethlehem"

"Love Kills Us All/Life in One Day"

"Walls"

"The Art of Loss"

"Love Reign O'er Me"

"Hope Dies Last"

"Like" Progtopia on Facebook (www.facebook.com/Progtopia and www.facebook.com/groups/1380357308874546/) and follow Progtopia on Twitter (@Progtopia) to send a message about the show and to receive news about current and upcoming interviews. Thanks for listening!

Originally published 21 April 2016

St. Petersburg, Russia, is a city known for many things, but don't be surprised if someday it's also known as the home of iamthemorning, who could be called, for lack of a better term, "chamber prog." Singer Marjana Semkina and pianist Gleb Kolyadin compose music that ranges from conservatory-style pieces to guitar-and-drum-driven rockers and all points between. Their new album Lighthouse features the likes of Gavin Harrison, Colin Edwin, and Mariusz Duda as guests on their often ethereal, always interesting tracks. Host Mark Ashby spoke with Semkina about the challenges of being from Russia and trying to get noticed by a label like Kscope, how they are received in live settings that might not be thought at first to suit their style, and who wins in a tournament of four male and four female vocalists between whom she must choose -- sometimes painfully. They're online at http://iamthemorning.com/.

Featured songs/excerpts:

"Harmony"

"Clear Clearer"

"To Human Misery"

"Lighthouse"

"Chalk and Coal"

"Post Scriptum"

"Like" Progtopia on Facebook (www.facebook.com/Progtopia and www.facebook.com/groups/1380357308874546/) and follow Progtopia on Twitter (@Progtopia) to send a message about the show and to receive news about current and upcoming interviews. Thanks for listening!

Originally published 6 April 2016

There's no rule that says a German band can't name themselves after an Italian author. So Augsburg's Dante has spent the past decade or so releasing albums, including their most recent called When We Were Beautiful. Members Alexander Göhs (vocals), Markus Maichel (keyboards), Christian Eichlinger (drums), and Julian Kellner (guitars) are firmly prog metal in style, with long songs and complex time signatures alongside more accessible beats that are - dare we say - danceable? Host Mark Ashby talked with Maichel about the band's origins, how Augsburg rates as a place for their sort of music, and the death of founding member Markus Berger and its aftermath. They're online at www.danteband.de.

Featured songs/excerpts:

"Rearrangement of the Gods"

"Let Me Down"

"Finally"

"Ambitious"

"Beautiful Again"

"Like" Progtopia on Facebook (www.facebook.com/Progtopia and www.facebook.com/groups/1380357308874546/) and follow Progtopia on Twitter (@Progtopia) to send a message about the show and to receive news about current and upcoming interviews. Thanks for listening!

Originally posted 18 Mar 2016